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July 05, 2026
 

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MANUFACTURING

Oliver Hilburger, founder of the self-styled union Zentrum, hands out flyers before the early morning shift at the Mercedes car plant in Stuttgart on Feb. 11. His group is affiliated with the far-right Alternative for Germany party and is aiming to challenge mainstream unions.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 16, 2026
Germany’s far right woos unhappy auto workers
Far-right political forces, including the Alternative for Germany party, are hoping to harness anxieties among the struggling auto industry’s workers to gain influence and support.
The HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Ulsan Shipyard
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Feb 12, 2026
Koreans are shunning dangerous shipbuilding jobs envied by Trump
Shipbuilding is among South Korea’s most dangerous industries, killing dozens of people each year, prompting more Korean workers to avoid those jobs.
Nippon Steel is forecasting a ¥70 billion net loss for the fiscal year through next month, up from ¥60 billion, partly due to a fire that broke out at a plant in Muroran, Hokkaido, last December.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2026
Nippon Steel projects larger full-year loss than expected
The steelmaker is now projecting a consolidated net loss of ¥70 billion as consequences of a fire at a plant in Muroran, Hokkaido, hit its bottom line.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s plant in Kumamoto Prefecture. The go-to chipmaker for Nvidia and Apple has decided to adopt cutting-edge technology for its second wafer fabrication plant in the prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2026
TSMC plans major upgrade of Japan chip plant in win for Takaichi
The go-to chipmaker for Nvidia and Apple has decided to adopt cutting-edge technology for its second wafer fabrication plant in Kumamoto.
Sony has effectively handed control of its TV business to China’s TCL, allowing the Sony brand to live on screens made by others while the company concentrates on higher-value areas.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 2, 2026
Sony switches off the TV and that’s just fine
It is the end of an era as Japan’s iconic electronics giant, Sony, cedes TV business to TCL.
The Japanese Association of Metal, Machinery and Manufacturing Workers holds a meeting in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Jan. 16.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Feb 1, 2026
Small firms in Japan struggling to raise wages
It is difficult for small companies to narrow the pay gap with large corporations at a time when prolonged inflation is driving up costs.
Shares of Next Generation Technology Group, which focuses on buying manufacturing firms without a clear succession plan, rose 202% since their listing last February.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2026
Japan’s succession crisis yields country’s best-performing IPO
Shares of Next Generation Technology Group, which focuses on buying manufacturing firms without a clear succession plan, rose 202% since their listing last February.
Employees work in an automobile spare parts factory in Ayutthaya province, north of Bangkok. Thailand recorded roughly 2,000 factory shutdowns last year; officials cited cheap Chinese imports as a major factor.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2026
How Asia’s Gen-Z is losing out to China’s $1 trillion surplus
Thailand recorded roughly 2,000 factory shutdowns last year; officials cited cheap Chinese imports as a major factor.
As well as shutting factories, Nissan is cutting 20,000 jobs, reducing production and has even sold its headquarters.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 23, 2026
Chinese car exporter Chery to buy Nissan plant in South Africa
Chery will buy the land, buildings and associated assets of Nissan facilities in Rosslyn, Pretoria, as the Japanese carmaker undergoes a major restructuring.
Silicon wafers shown on screens at the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Renovation Museum in Hsinchu, Taiwan. While Taiwan's economy soared in 2025 on exports of AI hardware and semiconductors, companies in more traditional manufacturing sectors have struggled.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 21, 2026
Taiwan’s traditional manufacturers miss out on export boom
Exports of a range of goods including machinery, metals and chemicals are becoming less profitable amid U.S. tariffs and unfavorable currency conditions.
A Honda CR-V in California. Honda is planning to increase production of cheaper gasoline-fueled vehicles in the United States this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 15, 2026
Honda to boost output of cheaper, less fuel-efficient vehicles in U.S.
The move comes as many American car-buyers are struggling to afford new-car prices that average nearly $50,000.
A water processing facility at TSMC's plant in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, is shown to media on Nov. 12. Numbers and maker names on the devices have been blurred upon the company's request.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 26, 2025
TSMC Kumamoto plant leaves concerns over water impact
About 75% of up to 30,000 metric tons of water used at the plant per day is recycled water, according to the company.
Shigenobu Nagamori
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 20, 2025
Nidec chairman quits board after spate of accounting issues
The move follows the discovery of accounting issues that damaged the reputation of the Japanese maker of electric motors.
Toyota Industries, whose shares are worth ¥5.6 trillion, was offered a buyout price in June nearly ¥1 trillion, or 16%, below the value of its holdings.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2025
Toyota Industries buyout bid dips 16% below stock holdings
The gap between the take-private proposal and the value of Toyota Industries’ holdings has become a major sticking point for activist fund Elliott Investment Management.
Workers operate at the sewing section of a factory, in Narayanganj, Bangladesh, on Nov. 18.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Dec 18, 2025
Step aside fashion police, here comes fashion immigration
Clothes destined for Europe could soon require digital passports to prove their green credentials, opening a new era of transparency for the world’s $1.7 trillion fashion industry.
Akio Toyoda, the chairman of Toyota Motor, leads unlisted real estate company Toyota Fudosan, which is leading the offer to take Toyota Industries private.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2025
Elliott woos other Toyota industries investors in buyout fight
The activist fund wants to push Toyota group to sweeten its ¥4.7 trillion bid.
Honda will suspend output in Japan on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, a spokesperson said Thursday, highlighting the lingering fallout of the global chip shortage.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2025
Honda to halt production at plants in Japan and China due to chip shortage
The Japanese carmaker has been hit hard after China blocked Nexperia — owned by Chinese company Wingtech Technology — from exporting products made at its local plants.
This week brought a cascade of signals that the electric vehicle era is entering a more uncertain, more contested phase.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Dec 17, 2025
The electric car transition unravels slowly, then all at once
This week brought a cascade of signals that the EV era is entering a more uncertain, more contested phase.
The Bank of Japan's <i>tankan</i> survey showed that confidence among large manufacturers in Japan has risen to the highest level in four years, while the gauge for nonmanufacturers has remained near the strongest level since the early 1990s.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 15, 2025
Japan’s factory sentiment improves, firming up BOJ hike case
The business sentiment index advanced to 15 this month from 14 in September, the BOJ’s quarterly tankan business survey has shown.
By fiscal 2030, Nippon Steel aims to raise its consolidated business profit, excluding items such as inventory valuation differences, to at least ¥1 trillion from the average of ¥770 billion projected for fiscal 2021-2025.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 12, 2025
Nippon Steel to invest ¥6 trillion over five years to fiscal 2030
The new plan sets overseas business as the core of growth amid a prolonged steel market slump caused by falling demand in Japan.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japanese police arrest nine over Sierra Leone-based special fraud
Japanese police have arrested nine individuals for their alleged involvement in a special fraud case using Sierra Leone as a base.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
X Games returns to Chiba with new team format
Skateboarder Sora Shirai practices at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on Friday afternoon. X Games Chiba begins on Saturday.
NU Festival tests Takanawa Gateway City complex’s culture cred
Veteran improvisers Kazuo Imai and Atsuhiro Ito brought some unruly energy to NU Festival, a three-day multimedia event held at the Takanawa Gateway City complex.  
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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